A Moment, A Love, A Dream, A Laugh
by RoseFleur
Summary: A missing moment from the Half-Blood Prince, when Hermione arrives early at the Burrow and surprises everyone - especially Ron.


**A/N: I do not own Ron, Hermione, Harry Potter, or any other reference to this world on which my childhood was based. **

**Making a brief return to my beloved couple - it's always a little moment or a movement that becomes a story in my head and it's always the littlest ones that are Ron and Hermione.**

**So this is them: takes place in the summer of Half-Blood Prince, before Fleur comes to stay :) a sort of 'missing moment' in my imagination, if you will. **

**Enjoy and please don't forget how much I love reviews!**

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"Thank you so much for having me to stay so early Mrs Weasley!" Hermione beamed at her friends' mother who pulled her into a tight hug and replied reproachfully but warmly,

"Don't be ridiculous Hermione, we love having you to stay here – you and Harry are practically part of the Weasley clan now – and I know Ron and Ginny have been looking forward to you staying. They haven't stopped badgering me about when you could come for weeks!"

Hermione flushed and swallowed, looking at the floor, noticing something – anything – on her suitcase that needed attending to.

"Something wrong dear?" asked Mrs Weasley frowning at Hermione's pink cheeks.

"No!" Hermione squeaked, darting her face back up to Mrs Weasley's and plastering a smile across her features to try and placate the inquisitive look on the older woman's face.

Mrs Weasley wasn't stupid, Hermione knew that as well as she knew how to make a Polyjuice Potion; she must know that there had been something growing in the air between her and Ron. It had always been there, Hermione supposed, but in the last year or so it had become more pronounced and she found her thoughts straying to him in the last dwindling moments of consciousness at night. Mrs Weasley was intuitive enough to recognise Hermione's eagerness to stay and her blush at the name of her youngest son, which she made plainly obvious as she watched Hermione with an unconvinced look and simply responded with a knowing "Hmm…"

Hermione smiled brightly at Mrs Weasley and hoped that she would divert the topic of conversation at any moment.

"Well you're okay with just showing yourself to Ginny's room aren't you?" asked Mrs Weasley, still eying Hermione with the hint of a wry smile on her face.

"Yes, I will do, thanks again Mrs Weasley!" Hermione smiled breathlessly and disappeared out of the kitchen, heaving her bags up the stairs.

She arrived on the first floor and pushed Ginny's bedroom door open with her hip, stumbling through it with the weight of her luggage. Noticing Hermione's struggle, Ginny leapt up off her bed and darted across the room to help her.

"You're early!" squealed the youngest Weasley, lifting one of Hermione's bags and dropping it by the camp bed she and her mother had put up. "Mum said you wouldn't be coming for another couple of days, no matter how many times I demanded it!"

"Maybe she wanted to surprise you?" shrugged Hermione, sinking onto the bed.

"Or Ron…" Ginny said smirking slightly and glancing at Hermione with relish, watching a pink tinge spread over her cheeks.

"Don't be silly," Hermione replied primly, smoothing down her jeans and attempting to look nonchalantly out the window.

"When will you two just admit you like each other?" cried Ginny exasperatedly, flopping back on her bed with a sigh.

"It's not that simple Ginny!" Hermione whined, moving off her bed and crawling up like a cat at the end of Ginny's.

"Yes it is!" Ginny argued, sitting up straight and looking Hermione directly in the eye. "You like him. He likes you. Just admit it and be together so we can skip to the inevitable end that we're all waiting for."

"I-I" Hermione stammered, twisting her fingers in her lap.

"Exactly." Ginny stated, giving her the same knowing look Mrs Weasley had done.

"Well," Hermione coughed, flicking her hair distractedly, "I don't think… I- I mean I" And she fell silent and looked away from Ginny.

"You're both so stubborn. That's your problem." Ginny told her wisely.

"I'm not stubborn!" Hermione argued defensively to which Ginny barked out a laugh.

"Yes you are!" She giggled, pushing Hermione amenably.

"On that note," Hermione sighed, pulling herself off the bed, "I think I'll just nip to the loo, I've been dying since I arrived."

"I'll help you choose something nice to wear for dinner for when you surprise my brother!" called Ginny excitedly after Hermione's retreating figure.

"Shut up!" shouted Hermione in return, blushing dangerously and marching out the door.

There was only one main bathroom in the Burrow, bar the one adjoined to Mr and Mrs Weasley's bedroom. The children were all forced to share the bathroom located on the third floor opposite Bill and Charlie's room, much to Ginny's chagrin who loathed having to share a bathroom with six boys. Hermione had been sympathetic and understanding especially after the awkward situation before the Quidditch World Cup when she had left her clothes in the bathroom and had to scurry back to retrieve them before any of the boys had found them.

She trudged up the stairs to the third landing and noticed the small strip of daylight as the sun set streaming through a crack in the door which was ajar. She pushed the door open and it swung back to reveal a tall, broad man with flaming red hair wearing solely a pair of dark, denim jeans.

Ron.

Hermione felt herself blushing from head to toe, the heat spreading throughout her body but she could not remove herself from the situation or stop staring. He looked so handsome and rugged now as he looked in the rusty mirror over the sink, putting his razor away in a drawer. She swallowed thickly, trying to maintain some composure and focus on not being a silly, little teenage girl. But frankly, she knew at the end of the day, despite the hype of her being 'the brightest witch of her age', she was at heart still a teenage girl, with a huge crush on the boy stood before her.

He turned away from the mirror and stopped, noticing Hermione lingering in the doorway. He froze unsure of what to do, feeling his ears turning pink and a nervous sensation crossing his body. He immediately felt uncomfortable at being topless in front of her, this feeling being far more prominent in his head than the realisation that his best friend was stood in the doorway even though she was meant to be arriving later on in the week. He attempted to gather himself together and stammered out,

"Hermione! You were meant to be coming in a few days!"

His voice sounded tight and constricted in his throat as he stiffly looked at his best friend in surprise.

"Well thanks Ron, it's good to see you too." Hermione replied, slightly huffily, relaxing in the doorway and raising a judgemental eyebrow.

"No!" exclaimed Ron, his eyes widening in desperation. "I didn't mean it like that!"

He corrected himself hurriedly and even put his arms out, advancing towards her in a frenzied attempt to show Hermione his intentions weren't to tell her he didn't want to see her.

"You just surprised me!" Ron shrugged, narrowing his eyebrows and biting his lip nervously.

Hermione smiled idiosyncratically at Ron's subconscious chewing of his plush, pink bottom lip.

"I can see that," she murmured with a wry smile, glancing down at his bare chest.

Ron's ears tinged pink and he coughed, scratching the back of his head.

"I wasn't expecting anyone to walk in." He mumbled, looking at his feet.

"I know Ron, it's okay." Hermione smiled and reached out to stroke his arm comfortingly.

She looked up into his piercing blue eyes and grinned warmly. Ron stared back before averting his eyes to the hand holding his bicep and radiating heat onto his muscle. Hermione glanced at it as well and retracted her hand, flushing furiously.

"Oh, I" She stopped, her eyes wide and guilty.

"No, it's okay," whispered Ron softly.

He looked into her dark brown eyes and smiled gently, inching towards her. He licked his lips and swallowed, enjoying the way she gasped a small 'oh' as he moved nearer and nearer. He bent his tall frame down to her eye line and gazed deeply into her eyes. Hermione bit her lip and let a small smile play on her lip. Ron was nudging closer to her now; she could feel his hot breath as he parted his lips and-

"Kids!" called Mrs Weasley's voice loudly up the stairs, "Dinner!"

Ron immediately sprang back, the moment was gone and his ears were the pinkest Hermione had ever seen them go. She sighed internally and her face fell as Ron stammered,

"I need to – er" and pointed into the hallway behind her indicating he would like to leave as soon as was physically possible.

"Yes, I was just going to-" Hermione replied, equally painfully, mimicking his movements into the bathroom.

"Sorry," Ron said, blushing as he slid past Hermione's small and slender body and escaped out the doorway.

He heard it slam behind him as Hermione locked herself inside and winced at the sound and the broken moment. He ran up the stairs to his attic room and flung himself inside. Cursing himself mentally he pulled a T-shirt out of a drawer and shoved it over his head, repeating the same curses over and over again. He rubbed his face in his hands and intrinsically hated his mother for interrupting. He'd known about these feelings for a long time, even though he refused to admit them to himself – or anyone else for that matter. His heart began to beat rapidly every time Hermione walked into a room or even strolled into his head and he felt his whole body constricting tightly. But he'd never been able to tell her, find the courage or the moment. And that had been it. And his bloody mother had only gone and ruined it.

He swallowed and sighed heavily, sinking onto his bed and rubbing his face again.

"Ron!" His mother yelled shrilly again, "Where are you? Everyone's waiting!"

He sighed again and stood up, kicking his bed angrily as he did so. He left the room, shutting his door behind him and flew down the flights of stairs until he arrived in the kitchen. His mother, Ginny and Hermione were all sat at the table looking at him expectantly. A pink blush rose in Hermione's cheeks but she covered it by inspecting her fork with deep interest. He sat down beside his mother and opposite Hermione, glancing up at her to see her reaction. She continued to stare at the fork but he noticed Ginny analysing the pair of them, her eyes flicking between them as if she was watching a fast paced and tense Quidditch match.

Ron swallowed again and bit his lip as Hermione finally looked up and caught his eye. She flushed more noticeably and coughed slightly, whether at his gesture which he found equally attractive on her or her reminiscence at what had just taken place and the possibility of what could have happened. His mind drifted to different scenarios and as his mother began to dole out food, he wondered when their next opportunity for an accidental meeting would be.

Mrs Weasley interrupted his thoughts, offering,

"Peas, Ron?"

"Please," he replied and took them from her, with a small smile crossing his lips.

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**I feel like this could have happened - it could be canon... I don't know, what do you think? **


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